Rhodes
|chain = Dodecanese |isles = |area = 1400.684 |highest_mount = Mount Attavyros |elevation = 1216 |periph = South Aegean |prefect = Dodecanese |capital = Rhodes |population = 117007 |pop_as_of = 2001 |postal = 85x xx |telephone = 2241-2247 |license = ΡΟ |website = Rhodes City Dodecanese Prefecture }} Rhodes ( , Ródos, ) is a Greek island approximately southwest of Turkey in the eastern Aegean Sea. It is the largest of the Dodecanese islands in terms of both land area and population, with a population of 117,007As of 2001 of which 53,709 resided in the homonymous capital city of the island. Historically, Rhodes was famous worldwide for the Colossus of Rhodes, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The medieval Old Town of the City of Rhodes has been declared a World Heritage Site. The major industry is tourism. Other names Rhodes is also called ; Rodos; Ladino: Rodi or Rodes Geography The island of Rhodes is shaped like a spearhead, long and wide, with a total area of approximately and a coastline of approximately . The city of Rhodes is located at the northern tip of the island, as well as the site of the ancient and modern commercial harbours. The main air gateway (Diagoras International Airport, IATA code: RHO) is located to the southwest of the city in Paradisi. The road network radiates from the city along the east and west coasts. In terms of flora and fauna, Rhodes is closer to Asia Minor than to the rest of Greece. The interior of the island is mountainous, sparsely inhabited and covered with forests of pine (Pinus brutia) and cypress (Cupressus sempervirens). The Rhodian population of fallow deer was found to be genetically distinct in 2005, and to be of urgent conservation concern. In Petaludes Valley (Greek for "Valley of the Butterflies"), large numbers of tiger moths gather during the summer months. Mount Attavyros, at , is the island's highest point of elevation. While the shores are rocky, the island has arable strips of land where citrus fruit, wine grapes, vegetables, olives and other crops are grown. Outside of the city of Rhodes, the island is dotted with small villages and beach resorts, among them Faliraki, Lindos, Kremasti, Haraki, Pefkos, Archangelos, Afantou, Koskinou, Embona (Attavyros), Paradisi, and Trianta (Ialysos). Tourism is the island's primary source of income. Earthquakes Earthquakes include the 226 BC earthquake that destroyed the Colossus of Rhodes; one on 3 May 1481 which destroyed much of the city of Rhodes;"Rhodes, Greece, 1481" Jan Kozak Collection: KZ13, The Earthquake Engineering Online Archive and one on 26 June 1926.Ambraseys, N. N. and Adams, R. D. (1998) "The Rhodes earthquake of 26 June 1926" Journal of Seismology 2(3): pp. 267–292. On 15 July 2008, Rhodes was struck by a 6.3 magnitude earthquake causing minor damage to a few old buildings. One woman lost her life when she fell down stairs while trying to flee her home."Earthquake's aftermath", Discover Rhodes. Retrieved 16 July 2008. ]] History Ancient times The island was inhabited in the Neolithic period, although little remains of this culture. In the 16th century BC the Minoans came to Rhodes. Later Greek mythology recalled a Rhodian race called the Telchines, and associated the island of Rhodes with Danaus; it was sometimes nicknamed Telchinis. In the 15th century BC, Mycenaean Greeks invaded. After the Bronze Age collapse the first renewed outside contacts are with Cyprus.B. d'Agostino, "Funerary customs and society on Rhodes in the Geometric Period: some observations", in E. Herring and I. Lemos, eds. Across Frontiers: Etruscans, Greeks, Phoenicians and Cypriots. Studies in Honour of D. Ridgway and F.R. Serra Ridgway 2006:57-69. In the 8th century BC the island's settlements started to form, with the coming of the Dorians, who built the three important cities of Lindos, Ialyssos and Kameiros, which together with Kos, Cnidus and Halicarnassus (on the mainland) made up the so-called Dorian Hexapolis (Greek for six cities). Before archaeology, myth stood in for blanks in the historical record. In Pindar's ode, the island was said to be born of the union of Helios the sun god and the nymph Rhode, and the cities were named for their three sons. The rhoda is a pink hibiscus native to the island. Diodorus Siculus added that Actis, one of the sons of Helios and Rhode, travelled to Egypt. He built the city of Heliopolis and taught the Egyptians the science of astrology. In the second half of the 8th century the sanctuary of Athena received votive gifts that are markers for cultural contacts: small ivories from the Near East and bronze objects from Syria. At Kameiros on the northwest coast, a former Bronze Age site, where the temple was founded in the 8th century, there is another notable contemporaneous sequence of carved ivory figurines. Phoenician presence on the island at Ialysos is attested in traditions recorded much later by Rhodian historians. ]] The Persians invaded and overran the island, but were in turn defeated by forces from Athens in 478 BC. The cities joined the Athenian League. When the Peloponnesian War broke out in 431 BC, Rhodes remained largely neutral, although it remained a member of the League. The war lasted until 404 BC, but by this time Rhodes had withdrawn entirely from the conflict and decided to go her own way. In 408 BC the cities united to form one territory. They built the city of Rhodes, a new capital on the northern end of the island. Its regular plan was superintended by the Athenian architect Hippodamus. The Peloponnesian War had so weakened the entire Greek culture that it lay open to invasion. In 357 BC the island was conquered by the king Mausolus of Caria, then it fell to the Persians in 340 BC. Their rule was also short. To the great relief of its citizens, Rhodes became a part of the growing empire of Alexander the Great in 332 BC, after he defeated the Persians. Following the death of Alexander his generals vied for control of the kingdom. Three: Ptolemy, Seleucus, and Antigonus, succeeded in dividing the kingdom among themselves. Rhodes formed strong commercial and cultural ties A. Agelarakis “Demographic Dynamics and Funerary Rituals as Reflected from Rhodian Handra Urns”, Archival Report, Archaeological and Historical Institute of Rhodes, 2005 with the Ptolemies in Alexandria, and together formed the Rhodo-Egyptian alliance that controlled trade throughout the Aegean in the 3rd century BC. The city developed into a maritime, commercial and cultural center; its coins circulated nearly everywhere in the Mediterranean. Its famous schools of philosophy, science, literature and rhetoric shared masters with Alexandria: the Athenian rhetorician Aeschines, who formed a school at Rhodes; Apollonius of Rhodes; the observations and works of the astronomers Hipparchus and Geminus, the rhetorician Dionysios Trax. Its school of sculptors developed a rich, dramatic style that can be characterized as "Hellenistic Baroque". In 305 BC, Antigonus directed his son, Demetrius, to besiege Rhodes in an attempt to break its alliance with Egypt. Demetrius created huge siege engines, including a battering ram and a siege tower named Helepolis that weighed . Despite this engagement, in 304 BC after only one year, he relented and signed a peace agreement, leaving behind a huge store of military equipment. The Rhodians sold the equipment and used the money to erect a statue of their sun god, Helios, the statue since called the Colossus of Rhodes. In 164 BC, Rhodes signed a treaty with Rome. It became an educational center for Roman noble families, and was especially noted for its teachers of rhetoric, such as Hermagoras and the unknown author of Rhetorica ad Herennium. At first the state was an important ally of Rome and enjoyed numerous privileges, but these were later lost in various machinations of Roman politics. Cassius eventually invaded the island and sacked the city. (1493)]] of the Knights of Saint John of Jerusalem (Knights Hospitaller), Rhodes, 1480–1500, fired cannon balls.]] In the 1st century AD, the Emperor Tiberius spent a brief term of exile on Rhodes. Saint Paul brought Christianity to people on the island.See Acts 21. Rhodes reached her zenith in the 3rd century. In 395, the long Byzantine Empire-period began for Rhodes, when the eastern half of the Roman empire became gradually more Greek. Rhodes was occupied by the Muslim forces of Muawiyah I in 672. In circa 1090 it was occupied by the Muslim forces of the Seljuk Turks, not long after the Battle of Manzikert.Brownworth, Lars (2009) Lost to the West: The Forgotten Byzantine Empire That Rescued Western Civilization, Crown Publishers, ISBN 978-0307407955: ". . . the Muslims captured Ephesus in 1090 and spread out to the Greek islands. Chios, Rhodes, and Lesbos fell in quick succession." p. 233. Rhodes was recaptured by the Byzantine Emperor Alexius I Comnenus during the First Crusade. Medieval period Further information: Siege of Rhodes (1480), Siege of Rhodes (1522) In 1309 the Byzantine era came to an end when the island was occupied by forces of the Knights Hospitaller. Under the rule of the newly named "Knights of Rhodes", the city was rebuilt into a model of the European medieval ideal. Many of the city's famous monuments, including the Palace of the Grand Master, were built during this period. The strong walls which the Knights had built withstood the attacks of the Sultan of Egypt in 1444, and of Mehmed II in 1480. Ultimately, however, Rhodes fell to the large army of Suleiman the Magnificent in December 1522, long after the rest of the Byzantine empire had been lost. The few surviving Knights were permitted to retire to the Kingdom of Sicily. The Knights would later move their base of operations to Malta. The island was thereafter a possession of the Ottoman Empire for nearly four centuries. Modern history The island was populated by ethnic groups from the surrounding nations, including Jews. Under the Ottoman Empire rule, they generally did fairly well, but discrimination and bigotry occasionally arose. In February 1840, the Jews of Rhodes were falsely accused of ritually murdering a Christian boy. This became known as the Rhodes blood libel. In 1912, Italy seized Rhodes from the Turks. The island's population thus bypassed many of the events associated with the "exchange of the minorities" between Greece and Turkey. Due to the Treaty of Lausanne, the island, together with the Dodecanese, was officially assigned to Italy. It became the core of their possession of the Isole Italiane dell'Egeo. Following the Italian Armistice of 8 September 1943, the British attempted to get the Italian garrison on Rhodes to change sides. This was anticipated by the German Army, which succeeded in occupying the island. In great measure, the German occupation caused the British failure in the subsequent Dodecanese Campaign. On 19 July 1944 the Gestapo rounded up the island’s nearly 2000 Jewish inhabitants, to send them to extermination camps. About 160 of the island's more than 600 Greek Jews survived. The Turkish Consul Selahattin Ülkümen succeeded, at considerable risk to himself and his family, in saving 42 Jewish families, about 200 persons in total, who had Turkish citizenship or were family members of Turkish citizens. In 1947, together with the other islands of the Dodecanese, Rhodes was united with Greece. In 1949, Rhodes was the venue for negotiations between Israel and Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria, concluding with the 1949 Armistice Agreements. ]] Archaeology In ancient times, Rhodes was home to one of the Seven Wonders of the World—the Colossus of Rhodes. This giant bronze statue was documented as once standing at the harbour. It was completed in 280 BC but was destroyed in an earthquake in 224 BC. No trace of the statue remains today. Historical sites on the island of Rhodes include the Acropolis of Lindos, the Acropolis of Rhodes, the Temple of Apollo, ancient Ialysos, ancient Kamiros, the Governor's Palace, Rhodes Old Town (walled medieval city), the Palace of the Grand Masters, Kahal Shalom Synagogue in the Jewish Quarter, the Archeological Museum, the ruins of the castle of Monolithos, the castle of Kritinia, St. Catherine Hospice and Rhodes Footbridge. Religion The predominant religion is Greek Orthodox. There is a significant Roman Catholic minority on the island, many of whom are descendants of Italians who remained after the end of the Italian occupation. Rhodes has a Muslim minority, a remnant from Ottoman Turkish times. The Jewish community of RhodesSee Angel, Marc. The Jews of Rhodes: The History of a Sephardic Community. Sepher-Hermon Press Inc. and The Union of Sephardic Congregations. New York: 1978 (1st ed.), 1980 (2nd ed.), 1998 (3rd ed.). goes back to the 1st century AD. In 1480, the Jews actively defended the walled city against the Turks. Kahal Shalom, established in 1557, is the oldest synagogue in Greece and still stands in the Jewish quarter of the Old Town of Rhodes. At its peak in the 1920s, the Jewish community was one-third of the total population. In the 1940s, there were about 2000 Jews of various ethnic backgrounds. The Germans deported and killed most of the community during the Holocaust. Kahal Shalom has been renovated with the help of foreign donors but few Jews live year-round in Rhodes today, so services are not held on a regular basis. ]] ]] ]] may have stood]] Government Rhodes is the capital of the Dodecanese Prefecture and the most populated island of the South Aegean Region. The local association of municipalities and communities of the Dodecanese, TEDKD, is responsible for the administration of the island and the prefecture as a whole. Administrative divisions The island is divided into 10 municipalities: Towns and villages Rhodes has 43 towns and villages: Economy The economy is tourist-oriented. The most developed sector is service. Small industries process imported raw materials for local retail. Other industry includes agricultural goods production, stockbreeding, fishery and winery. Transportation Road network The road network of the island is mostly modern and paved. There are four major arteries: *Rhodes-Kamiros Province Avenue: Two lane, runs through the west coast north to south and connects Rhodes City with Diagoras Airport and Kamiros. * Rhodes-Lindos National Avenue (Greek National Road 95): Four and two lane, runs mainly inland north to south and connects Rhodes City with Lindos. * Rhodes-Kallithea Province Avenue: Two lane, runs through the east coast north to south and connects Rhodes City with Faliraki Resort. * Tsairi-Airport National Avenue: Four and two lane, runs inland east to west and connects the east coast with the west and the airport. Future roads: * Further widening of E-95 from Faliraki to Lindos. This is to be four lane with jersey barrier in the middle, about in length, with the first part scheduled to start in August 2007. * Plans also exist for a new four lane express road connecting Rhodes Town with Diagoras Airport that will reduce congestion on the coastal west avenue. * The first phase of construction of the Rhodes City ringway was begun a few years ago, but progress has been slow. Cars and motorbikes Families in Rhodes often own more than one car, along with a motorbike. Traffic jams are common particularly in the summer months. The island is served by 450 taxis. Bus Bus services are handled by two operators: * RODA: Rhodes City company that also services suburban areas (Faliraki, Ialysos, Kremasti, Airport, Pastida, Maritsa, Paradeisi) and the entire west coast (blue-white colored). * KTEL: State-owned buses that serve villages and resorts in the east coast (yellow-orange colored). Air ]] Rhodes has three airports but only one is public. Diagoras Airport, one of the biggest in Greece, is the main entrance/exit point for both locals and tourists. The island is well connected with other major Greek cities and islands as well as with major European capitals and cities via charter flights. * Diagoras International Airport: public airport, south west of Rhodes City, third in international passenger volume and fourth in total passenger volume in Greece. * Maritsa Air Force Airfield: closed to public, near Maritsa village, used to be the public airport of the island until 1977. Nowadays serves the Greek Army and is sometimes used for car races. * Kalathos Air Strip: served as a landing strip during World War II, near the village of Kalathos. Inoperative. Two pilot schools offer aviation services (small plane rental, island hopping). Sea Rhodes has five ports, three of them in Rhodes City, one in the west coast near Kamiros and one in east coast near Lardos. * Central Port: located in the city of Rhodes serves domestic and international traffic. * Kolona Port: opposite the central port, serves intra-Dodecanese traffic and large yachts. * Akandia Port: the new port of the island next to the central port, being built since 1960s, for domestic and international traffic. At the moment serves cruise ships on peak days. * Kamiros Skala Dock: south west of the city near Ancient Kamiros ruins serves mainly the island of Halki * Lardos Dock: formerly servicing local industries, now under development as an alternative port for times when the central port is inaccessible due to weather conditions. It is situated in a rocky shore near the village of Lardos in south east Rhodes. Culture Sports ]] * Football: AS Rodos and Diagoras F.C., both Rhodes City based teams, compete professionally at the national level. Local football leagues (organized at the prefecture level) contain three divisions with more than 50 teams. Many stadiums are grass covered. * Basketball: Colossus BC sponsors professional basketball and has joined the Greek A1 League. The local league includes two divisions with 14 teams. Two indoor courts exist in Rhodes City, and one each in Ialysos and Kremasti. Several other are planned for Rhodes City Pales De Sports, Faliraki, Afantou, and South Rhodes. * Volleyball: local teams only. * Water Polo: mostly amateur based. There is no single indoor pool on the island. * Rugby: introduced in 2007. Teams compete at the national level. * Tennis: tennis has a long history on the island. * Sailing: widely developed, offers competition at the international level. * Cycling: for a long period of time Rhodes had the only cycling track in Greece, producing Olympics level competitors. * Rhodes competes in the bi-annual Island Games, which it hosted in 2007.International Island Games Association website. Retrieved 27Jun08. In popular culture * In ancient times there was a Roman saying: "Hic Rhodus, hic salta!"—"Rhodes is here, here perform your jump", an admonition to prove one's idle boasts by deed rather than talk. It comes from an Aesop's fable called "The Boastful Athlete", and was cited by Hegel and Marx. * Lawrence Durrell's "Reflections on a Marine Venus" (1953) is the author's semi-autobiographical account of his stay on the Island after World War II. * Many of the outdoor scenes of The Guns of Navarone (starring Gregory Peck, David Niven and Anthony Quinn) and Escape to Athena (starring Roger Moore and Telly Savalas) were filmed on the Island of Rhodes. * In the PlayStation 2 game God of War II, both Rhodes and the Colossus of Rhodes are featured at the start of the game, offering a mythological theory as to how the Colossus was destroyed. The Colossus of Rhodes is a common feature in many games, for example, it can be built as a "Wonder" in Rise of Nations and the Civilization series of games. * In one book of the Roman Mysteries series of children's novels, by Caroline Lawrence, the main characters visit Rhodes to stop the trading of slave labour. Notable people * Agesander, (1st century BC) sculptor * Chares of Lindos (3rd century BC), sculptor * Cleobulus of Lindos (6th century BC), philosopher and one of the Seven Sages of Ancient Greece * Diagoras of Rhodes (5th century BC), boxer, multiple Olympic winner * Dinocrates (4th century BC), architect and technical adviser for Alexander the Great * Leonidas, (2nd century BC) athlete * Memnon (380–333 BC), commander of mercenary army International relations Twin towns — Sister cities * Perth, Western Australia, Australia Gallery Image:Rho west coast.jpg|West coast and the town of Ialysos from Filerimos hill Image:Rho mt filerimos.jpg|Filerimos hill Image:Filerimos.JPG|Filerimos Image:Archangelos (Rhodos) Glockenturm.JPG|The Aghios Archangelos Church in the city of Archangelos. Image:Sianna.jpg|Church in Sianna village, on the west coast Image:Tsampikabeach.JPG|Tsampika beach on the east coast Image:Kallithea1.JPG|Kallithea thermes (spa) Image:Lindos32.JPG.JPG|Lindos—Akropolis Image:Lindos1.JPG|Small church in Lindos town Image:gardensrhodes.JPG|Rhodes town—Old Town gardens Image:stadiumrhodes.JPG|Rhodes town—ancient Olympic stadium Image:bazilikarhodes.JPG|Romanic basilica in Old Town of Rhodes References ;Notes External links *City of Rhodes official website * }} af:Rhodos ar:رودوس ast:Rodes bs:Rodos br:Enez Rodos bg:Родос ca:Rodes ceb:Rodas cs:Rhodos cy:Rhodes da:Rhodos de:Rhodos et:Rhodos el:Ρόδος es:Rodas eo:Rodiso fr:Rhodes ga:Ródas gl:Rodas - Ρόδος ko:로도스 섬 hr:Rod (otok) id:Pulau Rodos is:Ródos it:Rodi he:רודוס sw:Rhodos lad:Rodes la:Rhodus lb:Rhodos lt:Rodas hu:Rodosz (sziget) mk:Родос mr:र्‍होड्स arz:رودس nl:Rodos (eiland) ja:ロードス島 no:Rhodos nn:Ródos nds:Rhodos pl:Rodos (wyspa) pt:Rodes ro:Rodos ru:Родос scn:Rodi simple:Rhodes sk:Rodos (ostrov) sl:Rodos sr:Родос sh:Rodos fi:Rodos sv:Rhodos th:โรดส์ tr:Rodos uk:Родос ur:جزیرہ روڈز zh:罗得岛 All Empires history community sitesinde Turcopoles ve gagauz *Who were they? (Tribes or clans) *were did they live? (countries) *wich monarchies did they serve or were they just mercinaries? *When did they serve?(time) *were there any other Turcopolis other than the gagauz any info is welcome ---- thumb |700px |If you mean Turcopoles, they were light cavalry/skirmishing force which is AFAIK mentioned both in service of Christian and Muslim armies during Crusading era in the Near East. Their origin was probably mixed I rather be a nomadic barbarian than a sedentary savage I thought Turcopoles strictly refered to Turks who fought for christians & mostly were christian themselfs While undoubtly, at least initially,' the largest ethnic component was Turkic', often they became inhabitants of some non-Turkic land and eventually got assimilated. Turcopoles-a good article covering the issue (and a very good blog, mainly on ottoman history). ---- Turcopoles first mention and recruitment took place in the Byzantine army of 12th century (Komnenean era ) as Turkopouloi. They were actually light skirmishing fighters of mixed parentage (Greek-Turkish) and mostly christians. In fact their name means sons of Turks in Greek (ending -opoulos/-oi like in many modern greek surnames-also medieval ones (etc .Fragopoulos ,officer of Constantine Paleologos ) Such units of mixed origin in the byzantine army were also the Gasmouloi .'''These had mixed Greek/Latin(=western European(mainly French/Italian)) parentage. They served as marines or servants in the navy. ---- '''When the Crusaders arrived in Holy Land they also employed turcopoles regardless of their religion (the Muslim ones, when captured, were imediately executed as traitors). There's still much controversy about their offensive equipment, some saying that they were light horse archers, some saying that they used javelins instead. The Teutonic order also had "turcopolen ", although by this time the name reflected more their equipment and tactics than their origin (just like the French Zouaves , at first of Algerian origin, later made exclusively of metropolitan French - the Algerians were recruited as "Turks "! - or the American Zouaves who were Anglo-Saxons ). ---- In my research I have found the Turkopoles were not the same as the Byzantine Turkopouloui . Nor did the Turkopoles have any relations to the Turkoman . I use to think Turkopoles came from a specific ethnic group and were muslims. This is not the case. Turkopoles came from many different areas, the Levant , Byzantium , Anatolia , and Europe . This is supported by an incident that happened during the 3rd crusade . 2 Turkopoles and a Bedouin were sent to reconnoiter a caravan. The 3 were approached by those guarding/escorting the caravan. Sources state only the Bedouin was to do the talking and the other two were to remain silent. Had the Turkopoles spoke they would have been compromised. What wasn't clear was whether or not the turkopoles spoke Arabic or not.' It does state they were dressed in Arab fashion.' It is clear however, that some Turkopoles did speak Arabic or Turkish. During a siege (I forget which one, a Templar castle) the Mamlukes encouraged the Turkopoles to give up their loyalty to the Franks. Many did so and climbed over the walls. To prevent any further "desertions" the Templars enforced strict disciplinary actions against the Turkopoles. 'The role of the Turkopoles within the Latin armies' The role of the Turkopoles within the Latin armies was relegated to scouting, raiding, ambushes, skirmishing in small engagements, and during large battles they were used (as lightly armed shock cavalry) to augment the knights during the charge. They did not deploy in front of the army and fight in the Turkoman fashion. 'Echelon and Turkopoles' In many different sources the charge of the Frankish cavalry is described as "echelon". Due to the lack of numbers there is no way the knights could have charged in echelon. However, if they are backed up by sergeants and Turkopoles then the echelon is possible. It does appear the bow was the primary weapon of the Turkopoles and they did carry a sword & shield. Usamah ibn Munqidh describes them as the archers of the Franks. What he didn't state was weather or not they were equivelent to the Turkomen. In a paper written by Yuval Harai (The Military Role of the Frankish Turkopoles; A Reassessment), they found the Turkopoles could make up as much as 50% of the mounted forces in the Frankish army. Turkopoles were an important aspect of the Frankish army. The article can be obtained through BYU. That's a very relevant info you posted here. Can you tell me exactly what does BYU means? I would like to read that article first hand... Brigham Young University. Located in Provo, Utah, U.S. Mavi boncuk The Marshal of the Order was the Templar in charge of war and anything that was related to it. In this sense the Marshal could be viewed as the second most important member of the Order after the Grand Master. His personal retinue was comprised of two squires, one turcoman, one turcopole and one sergeant. He also had four horses at his command.Turcoman one can guess, but, who was the turcopole? During the Crusades, turcopoles', turcoples, or turcopoliers (Greek: "sons of Turks") were mounted archers. The crusaders first came across Turcopoles in the Byzantine army during the First Crusade. They were children of mixed Greek and Turkish parentage, and were at least nominally Christian although they may have been practising Muslims. Some Turcopole units accompanied the First Crusade and then seem to have formed the first Turcopole units in the crusader states. In the crusader states they were not necessarily Turks or mixed-race soldiers, but many probably were recruited from Christianized Seljuqs , or perhaps from the Eastern Orthodox Christians under crusader rule. In the Holy Land , Turcopoles were more lightly-armoured than knights and were armed with lances and bows to help combat the more mobile Muslim forces. They served as light cavalry: skirmishers, scouts, and mounted archers, and sometimes rode as a second line in a charge, to back up the knights and sergeants. They had lighter, faster horses than the knights or sergeants, and they wore much lighter armour, usually only a quilted aketon and a conical steel helmet. There were Turcopoles in the secular armies but they were also often found in the ranks of the military orders, where they were more likely to be mounted Frankish sergeants. In the military orders, however, they were of a lower status than the sergeants, and were subject to various restrictions, including eating at a separate table from the mounted soldiers. The Mamluks considered Turcopoles to be traitors and apostates: their policy was to kill all those whom they captured. The Turcopoles who survived the Fall of Acre followed the military orders out of the Holy Land and were established on Cyprus with the Knights Templar and Rhodes and Malta with the Knights Hospitaller. The Teutonic Order also called its own native light cavalry the "Turkopolen". 1 Crusader States : Former territories on the Palestine coast taken by the Christian army during the first of the Crusades. The states were established as the kingdom of Jerusalem (1099 – 1187), the principality of Antioch (1098 – 1268), the county of Edessa (1098 – 1144), and the county of Tripoli (1109 – 1289). Threats to the states led the pope to call for future crusades. Category:Rhodes Category:Mediterranean islands Category:Turkish communities outside Turkey